Four Queens and an Ace
by Archaon
Summary: When Ranma encounters a foe unlike anything else and vanishes, Akane Ukyo Shampoo and Kodachi must join forces and work together for his sake. Enter the amazon secret agency and all the assorted madness it entrails...
1. Two of a Kind

**Four Queens and an Ace**

By Archaon

Disclaimer: I am all, I own all. Or not...

**Chapter 1: Two of a kind**

**- - - **

_Focus!_ She ignored the catcalls of the crowd, deeming them inconsequential. Instead, she eyed her opponent neutrally while using less mundane senses to assess his prowess. Some basic chi control; Fairly fast and strong; The hints of an ugly mug peeking from the ridiculous demon mask he wore to hide his upper face; A long, slender sword on his back and a pair of nunchucks strapped on his belt.

She smiled, then scolded herself for being overconfident.

_Focus!_ She smoothed the invisible wrinkles on her gi, tensed her gloved fists for a second, then relaxed in a deceptively mild battle stance.

"This is no place for you, little girl" he taunted, frowning when she failed to stiffen. His eyes brushed her form, although he wasn't exactly assessing her as a fighter. His face assumed a lecherous smirk. "Still it would be a shame to waste a hot body like that," he added licking his lips. "I'll make sure to take full advantage before I carve you up. The audience will love it, too."

She felt insecure for a moment, then mentally slapped herself for letting him get to her. She did as she had recently been taught and channeled all the anger and indignation she felt through her body and away from her mind. She debated whether to offer a retort, but it became a moot point seconds later.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Pit! Tonight we have a match that will surely get burned to your memory" declared the enthusiastic announcer, his voice blaring through heavy-duty speakers. "On the blue corner, the fearsome Crimson Ripper, a veteran fighter and seventh in our ranking. And on the red corner, the alluring Midnight Artist, a lady that has been rising up the ranking ladder like a wildcat. Only one will come out of the cage standing!"

"Ready... FIGHT!!"

- - -

Ranma frowned at the special cell phone Nabiki had lent him. It had only taken him a few minutes to decipher its GPS function and he was now hot on the trail. The unsavory and familiar neighborhood around him, so close to Nerima and yet so unlike, did nothing to alleviate his worry.

When Akane had started disappearing every Friday night, he had initially thought nothing of it. Two months later, he decided he had to know. Nabiki, also anxious about her baby sister but not about to declare it to the world, had planted a GPS tracker on her clothes.

Ranma sighed. It was half a year after their return from China and the postponed wedding and things were more unsettling than ever. The pig-tailed martial artist knew Akane must have at least some feelings for him and he knew **she** knew they were mutual. However, they had both remained true to their stubborn nature. They had stopped their serious arguments but still bickered senselessly. Instead of really talking like normal people, they also trained senselessly. Akane had stopped being top of her class, now only achieving barely above average grades and Ranma had stopped being lazy half of the day. When people would ask them, they would both clamp up and pretend nothing had changed, of course.

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Ranma reached the signal and eyed the rundown building before him as if it was a termite lair. He knew very well it was not as rundown from the inside. Slipping into the Umisenken, he entered through the main doors, passing by the unsuspecting guard that was disguised as a beggar and the hidden security camera above him. He was soon running along a couple dusty corridors, reaching a door and opening it rapidly. He knew beforehand there was no one inside, but a guy could hope. He sighed again in resignation at the spectacle. A private changing room and Akane's clothes neatly folded on a chair.

"Akane, you big idiot. If you hurt yourself, I'm going to seal you in a bottle" he muttered exasperated, running out of the room and towards the building's basement. His senses revealed at least two hundred life signs there, making it impossible to decipher individuals.

- - -

The Crimson Ripper, true to his reputation, rushed for a quick victory intending to grapple his smaller opponent to the floor and teach her a couple lessons of a different nature. "Come to daddy!" he bellowed, his hands extended. Years of combat and occasional defeat warned him at the last moment and he tried to dodge and roll with an incoming punch. The Midnight Artist merely clipped his shoulder but it was still enough to launch him off his feet and send him on the steel-wired cage wall. He tried to defend against the next hit that should be coming, but he soon realized she had not pressed her advantage.

She was too busy displaying a wicked smirk instead.

The larger fighter regained his footing, eyeing his opponent under a different light. He cautiously rolled his shoulder, still not believing his pain centers. If he hadn't dodged, the bitch would have dislocated his arm. Much more cautiously, he retrieved the sword from his back, clutching the hilt expertly.

"You are mine" he snarled, rotating his blade once to intone his words and going for a basic stabbing thrust. The shorthaired girl narrowed her eyes, concentrating and remaining still until the last moment. Moving rapidly, she used the back of her palm to parry the sword harmlessly to her side, then twisted her whole body, rolling beside the flat of the blade, delivering a backhand above her shoulder and right at her opponent's nose, then rolling back out of his range. Although she lacked the leverage to deliver a decisive hit, the Crimson Ripper found his nose sharing the first part of his nickname.

More insulted than injured, he wiped the blood off his face and started slashing as fast as he could with his right hand while he kept his left hand ready to defend. The Midnight Artist knew she would be hard-pressed to repeat her last stunt. Dodging the many horizontal and diagonal swipes, she carefully searched for a pattern and an opening. As soon as her back collided with the steel wire wall, however, she decided that going defensive had not been exactly smart.

Her opponent smirked openly. The girl had played right into his hands, trapped between his blade and a hard place and unable to fully utilize her superior speed. He had to blink dumbly, however, when a plain bokken appeared out of thin air and soundly blocked his weapon. While the crowd around the cage had not been exactly silent, it erupted at cheers at the spectacle, leaving him to wonder were she had been hiding the training weapon. He soon decided the lewd joke that came to his mind would only distract him and he concentrated at figuring out why he couldn't cut through the flimsy training aid instead.

His opponent would have none of that, though. As soon as she countered the immediate danger with her bokken, she used the wall behind her as leverage and pushed with all the strength she could muster. The Crimson Ripper was sent flying once more.

Recovering fast, he leaped on his feet just in time to block an intricate pattern of slashes and jabs, still flabbergasted an apparently wooden weapon could veer away his tempered steel. He missed the look of concentration and slight worry on his opponent's face, however. The Midnight Artist had not expected to have to use her bokken for so long and despite the fact she was pouring a steady stream of life energy to it, the wooden sword would not last much longer. Tiny chunks had already started flying around the ring and each block and parry took its toll.

"You are a spunky little thing, ain't you?" mused the Crimson Ripper as their swords clashed together once more and their faces came inches apart.

"You talk too much" she spat back as they both leaped backwards. Her opponent smiled a dirty smile, then tried an overhead slash. She saw an opening and went to take advantage.

Both thought they had a chance to fool their opponent. Both were right.

The Midnight Artist's bokken slashed towards her opponent's abdomen and he decided at the last moment that wooden sword or not, it would be prudent to dodge out of the way. At the same time, he pressed a hidden trigger on the hilt of his own blade and she saw the sword's tip speeding towards her head.

They both leaped back, as far from each other as possible, and assessed their wounds. The Crimson Ripper clasped the side of his waist in disbelief. If he hadn't dodged to the left, his foe's bokken would have spilled his guts on the floor. She, on the other hand, was busy gawking at her opponent's weapon. The previously sturdy sword had proven to be segmented instead, tiny and sharp pieces of metal with a wire passing through their core. The Midnight Artist had never seen a whip-sword before and she was glad she had tilted her head to the side. Instead of a slit throat, she had only suffered a superficial wound at her jaw line.

Growling like an animal, the Crimson Ripper snapped his weapon forward and she inwardly cursed as she once again found herself on the defensive. The exotic weapon she had to face did not help her case in the least, giving her enemy a vastly superior reach. She quickly decided she had to risk leaving an opening. The whip-sword slashed forward twice, not unlike a serpent and the crowd gasped holding their breaths. The first attack severed the already frail bokken in half while the second caused the weapon to coil around Midnight Artist's arm.

"What will you do now?" he taunted, fully prepared to rip the appendage off. Ignoring both him and the pain all along her arm, she sighed in relief. She had used enough of her chi to shield her arm and avoid any deliberating wound. Now that the whip-sword was in her grasp, she could retaliate.

Ignoring the pain as metal dug into her sleeved arm, she grasped the wire between two of the segments with her hand and tugged with all her might while leaping off the ground. Being lighter than her opponent, she went flying towards him, extended and braced leg leading the way. The next thing he knew was extreme pain at his chest as three ribs broke under the flying kick. Instead of waiting for him to recover, she became a flurry of limbs. One of her palms knifed at his wrist, sending the hilt of his weapon flying, while her other hand confiscated the two section staff from his belt. A knee at his injured side and a lightning-fast uppercut that cracked his jaw followed and he slumped to the floor unconscious.

"And the winner is, the alluring Midnight Artist!!!" declared the announcer after a while causing the crowd to go wild.

She blushed prettily under her mask, receiving her prize money and bowing to the audience. Three minutes later she was out of the cage and heading towards her changing room. She wearily removed her gi, wincing a bit as the sleeve brushed against her arm. Standing in her underwear, she expertly treated most of the swallow gushes along her skin, then quickly dressed in casual clothes, removing her mask almost as an afterthought. She ran a hand through her short, midnight-blue bangs and she sighed in relief, smiling proudly to herself. Shaking her head at her antics, she quickly recovered her bag, anxious to return home for some well-deserved rest. Exiting the room, she walked along a dusty corridor and left through the back door, casually hailing another disguised security guard.

Two alleys later she stopped walking and frowned. "I know someone is there. Come out and you'll get what's coming to you!" she demanded, drawing a chuckle from the shadows.

A figure walked into her line of vision as her eyes went wide. "Oh, please spare me, Akane. Or should I say, Midnight Artist?"

"Ra... Ranma?"

- - -

Ukyo glared at the infernal item in her hands with all the hatred and spite she could muster.

The Kuonji chef decided this was not a nice year for her at all. After Ranma's postponed wedding she had toiled very hard trying to make him talk to her again and was very relieved when he finally decided to forgive. That did not mean he neglected chewing her for all she was worth, despite her apologies. In an unbecoming fit of courage and determination he had made it very clear he did not consider her as anything more than a friend, something that had almost been compromised after her sanity decided to temporarily depart and be replaced by exploding okonomiyaki recipes.

She had collapsed for some time after that talk. Guilt and depression, denial and regret all raked her mind leaving her a shell of her normal self. After some time, she considered leaving Nerima and disappearing from Ranma's life.

She had dismissed the notion seconds later. Her mother was dead and her father was a bastard even beyond Genma's caliber that had wanted nothing more than to get rid of her. In Nerima she had a home, a business and people she could call friends. She decided that after ten years of loneliness followed by two years of fraternizing with the woes and wonders of Nerima, she could not bare to be alone again. Even if she could not have Ranma as a husband, she could keep him as a friend. Not that she would completely give up, she decided. She would just keep being his friend unless HE decided to pursue her romantically.

The infernal device failed to be intimidated by her glare.

Ukyo decided cell phones were not her thing. She had learned about Akane's disappearances and that Ranma had decided to investigate and had contacted Nabiki. The mercenary Tendo had given her a cell phone that could presumably home on the cell phone Ranma was using. While Ukyo considered Akane a friendly rival in general and was quite worried about her, a part of her mind still wished the Tendo girl was absent because of a secret affair. She would definitely take the chance to console a heartbroken Ranma and let things take their natural course if that would be the case.

Now, if only she could figure out how to operate the mobile...

- - -

While Ryouga Hibiki had spent most of his life camping, he was rarely what people would call a 'happy camper'. The conglomeration of curses attached to his body was of course the primary reason.

"Damn it, it's not enough that giant Balamb hovercraft thing almost squashed me, I have to deal will freaking dinosaurs now" he bellowed, running through the luscious vegetation and being pursued by a herd of particularly carnivorous reptiles.

He kept thinking whether he could pin this new misfortune on Ranma. Sure, his pigtailed rival was the one that had told him to go that way, but that was two weeks ago. Ryouga knew he might have deviated from the original direction a bit, so it was not all Ranma's fault this time. He nodded in satisfaction, knowing that this time nobody could blame him of being irrational and irresponsible.

"Damn it, Ranma! This is **partly** your fault!" he exclaimed, crashing through a stone wall as if it were made of rice paper. Of course, the lost boy never stopped to consider what exactly a stone wall was doing in the middle of a jungle filled with dinosaurs and giant caterpillars, but then again Ryouga rarely considered the obstacles he trampled.

The reptiles behind him blinked in disbelief as the lost boy turned right behind a tree then vanished.

- - -

Exalted grandmother Khu Lhon, retired matriarch of the 'tribe of female heroes', commonly known as amazons was busy meditating inside her Neko-Cave. The large chamber, carved below the Nekohanten's third basement by means of the braking point technique was large enough to store an abundant amount of secret books and scrolls, amazon artifacts and illegal modern weaponry. Especially Cologne's tactical warhead collection was her pride and joy, only second to Merlin's spellbook in her eyes.

The amazon elder was restless, though. At first she could hardly believe Ranma had been able to single-handedly slay God-king Saffron. Such a feat was the stuff legends were made of and she knew she would have been hard-pressed herself to produce such a victory. After contacting her village and confirming the information, she had spent a long time thinking. While Cologne had stopped trying to actively acquire Ranma after facing the neko-ken, her heir had used a very incriminating amount of tricks and deception to marry the cursed martial artist. The elder did not want to make an enemy out of the young Saotome. It was bad enough his mother's family was far more formidable than his father's. Having a phoenix slayer as a foe to the amazons would be grave indeed.

Cologne sighed, manifesting her aura into the visible spectrum and concentrating. She managed to pinpoint Ranma despite the youth's habit of hiding his powers. She extended her search a bit more, then gasped. Not caring about her shattered concentration, she leaped on her staff and hurried back to her restaurant as fast as she could, which was extremely fast indeed. Fortunately, Mousse and Shampoo were busy renovating the place and so no customers needed to be ousted. Never offering an explanation, the elder grabbed both other amazons by their collars and proceeded to drag them along at speeds none of them could otherwise accomplish.

"What the..? What are you doing, old ghoul?" demanded the bespectacled hidden weapons master, trying very hard to avoid feeling sick. Shampoo only fared a bit better, but was wise enough to realize the gravity of the situation and remain mute. Few things could unsettle Cologne and the elder's face was particularly unsettled.

The elder amazon sighed. "Be ready for battle, both of you. Even if you won't be able to harm the enemy, you might buy some time for those that can" she advised cryptically, never slowing down as she kept leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

- - -

Kodachi Kuno was engrossed in one of her favorite pastimes. She loved leaping from rooftop to rooftop like a lunatic, laughing and causing mischief while testing her newest herbal concoctions. It's not that the gymnast considered such a behavior to be normal. No, Kodachi was very aware what she was doing was insane. In fact, she prided herself for having the sanity to act as insanely as possible.

The Kuno girl had realized since pre-school that being ludicrously rich, having no mother and an insane father and being gifted in martial arts were not exactly assets that could stop her from being lonely. In fact, Ranma had been the first one outside her family to treat her as an individual. The fact he was far superior to her in the art and yet he had endured all of her not-so-harmless pranks without breaking every bone in her body had made him particularly appealing to her.

Yes, Kodachi had been in love, but was also rational enough to know it would never work between them, even though she would have been ready to accept the younger Saotome despite his curse.

Kodachi couldn't help but giggle at that. Unlike her idiotic brother, she had realized Ranma's dual nature soon after their martial arts gymnastics match. She refrained from mentioning that particular detail mainly because she could harass Ranma in two very different ways depending on form. All in good humor, of course. For Kodachi, Ranma and the Wrecking Crew by extension, was the closest thing she had to friends.

Her pondering halted when she sensed something was amiss. While her chi-senses were very underdeveloped compared to some other martial artists residing in Nerima, her family possessed a different kind of sight, allowing her to frequently see the unseen and track traces of magic. That was how she would usually locate Ranma, after all. His girl curse reeked of magic and stood like a beacon to her eyes.

When she sensed a very unsettling magic signature approaching Ranma, she decided to investigate.

- - -

"What are you doing here?" demanded Akane, trying to appear angry and hide her uneasiness.

Her fiancé failed to flinch at her tone. "What am I doing here? The question is, what the hell **you **have been doing here every Friday for the past two months!" he shot back more than a little annoyed.

Akane turned to the side, not wanting to face him. "For your information, I turned 18 last month. I don't have to answer to anybody and especially not to you."

Ranma frowned. "Don't give me that. I have been training you ever since we came back from Jusendo. When it comes to the art, you so **do** have to answer to me. And fighting in an underground battle pit does have to do with the art!"

"It's not like I lied about it" she replied weakly.

"Sure, you just avoided all questions and went on sneaking around like that." Moving far faster than she could hope to see, he proceeded to snatch away the gloves she had kept on wearing. "So tell me. Are the chestnuts sweet this season?" he asked teasingly.

Akane blushed, trying vainly to hide her hands despite the futility of the gesture. While the burns were almost healed, they were still visible under casual scrutiny. "So I'm trying to learn the Amaguriken. Are you going to try and stop me?" she replied indignantly. She had wanted to keep her extra training secret so that she might extract some praise from her fiancé after she was done. Of course, you would have to twist her arm repeatedly to make her admit as much.

Ranma sighed in resignation. While he could admit to himself he loved his tomboy, she was still one of the few people that could so casually make him lose his cool. "Look 'Kane" he started calmly, resorting to a weak version of the soul of ice to prevent himself from shouting his head off. "If you have to go around doing dangerous stuff, at least have somebody to back you up. What's next? Trying to lob chi balls in secret?" he asked, gawking as her blush became visible despite the lack of substantial light. "Oh gods, you have been trying that, haven't you?" he squeaked.

"Only a little" she admitted, her voice small. Then her mind bristled at the thought. How dare he judge her like that? He was just as viable to be doing 'dangerous stuff', perhaps even more than she was. And yet he was a coward when it came to the two of them. She knew very well what she had heard at Jusendo and could read the rest of the signs, yet she would be damned if she admitted first she liked him as much as he did. "Since when are you worried what happens to me, anyway?" she demanded. While she knew she was being unfair, she figured he deserved it.

Her fiancé decided he would have to cause some mindless act of property damage and destruction very soon if that went on. While he was no Ryouga, he could appreciate the therapeutic effects of smashing something as opposed to smashing someone. At this point, he was faintly aware of what his mouth was saying.

"Since when I am worried about you?" he repeated incredulously. "How can I not be worried about you! Every odd month you decide to go and get yourself kidnapped and then it is up to me to pull your ass off the fire. Do you think I would bother if I didn't care?" he demanded, then his face went blank as he realized what exactly he was saying. "I mean..." he tried, sounding way too unsure. "Why would I...?"

While Akane had been ecstatic when he started venting like that without thinking and finally admitting his feelings, she was now ready to start spitting fire. She wouldn't allow him to deny everything yet again even if she had to mallet him to unconsciousness.

They both stopped short when they sensed another presence with obvious hostile intent approaching. Turning as one, they shot a cold glare towards the large man that came out of the shadows.

"Sorry to interrupt your little lover's spat kids, but me and miss 'Midnight Artist' there have a bit of a score to settle" he declared, producing a submachine pistol out of his clothes and taking aim.

Akane bristled at that. "You are that Crimson Ripper loser I beat up. What the hell do you want now?" she asked, her eyes focused on his trigger finger. While she had no experience against opponents with modern weapons, she had been taught the basics. Her legs were ready to move at the merest indication he was about to shoot.

The bigger man snorted. "I don't take kindly being defeated that easily" he spat, eyeing the pair dangerously.

Ranma was not amused. "So you're saying you're going to shoot us because she won fair and square? Boy, talk about a sore loser."

The Crimson Ripper's eyes narrowed and he moved the weapon muzzle towards Ranma. "Shut up, or I'll kill you first" he spat.

The pig-tailed martial artist actually smirked. "Try it smartass" he replied in a wicked tone. "I have defeated you before anyway," he added and the armed man narrowed his eyes. "Or did you forget already."

Akane raised a brow as the larger man seemed to shrink away from her fiancé. "N...no! Not you!" he muttered shell-shocked. He then proceeded to unload his weapon on the cursed martial artist, firing a continuous string of bullets. The midnight-haired girl gasped, noticing Ranma had not bothered to dodge. As soon as the offending weapon clicked empty, she turned towards her fiancé, afraid he was hurt.

To the incredulous disbelief of everybody else, Ranma was still smirking. Slowly opening his palm, he revealed a small pile of bullets that gleamed under the faint streetlights. "I think you lost something" he stated calmly and the would-be murderer took a step back. Ranma clenched his fist closed and Akane's eyes went wide as his hand gleamed a blue glow. When he opened his fingers once more, a crude and jagged but still sharp metal blade rested there instead.

The Crimson Reaper's arm reflexively went for his sword, but Ranma was faster. Flicking his hand almost lazily, he sent the newly formed blade flying. The impromptu weapon collided with his arm, leaving a gash that almost reached the bone then continuing to lodge deeply in the wall behind him.

Ranma's aura flared brightly into the visible spectrum and he let his chi fill his vocal cords. "Run!" he commanded, his voice reverberating and causing the world around them to shudder.

The Crimson Ripper miraculously gained control of his legs and did just that, sprinting away far faster than he thought he would be able to. Unfortunately, he lost control of his bladder in the process.

Ranma sighed, letting his aura subside and finishing the light show. "And this is one of the reasons you should always have somebody with you when going to shabby places like that" he said casually.

Akane shook her head, trying to reattach to reality. Even if Ranma had not targeted her, the backlash of his fear aura had still taken its toll. "I was ready to dodge this bullets, you know" she managed after a while.

Ranma scowled. "It's not as easy as you think" he shot back. "And being a bit more thankful won't kill you either, tomboy" he added spitefully.

She ignored his last sentence. "Did you have to dodge bullets often?" she asked neutrally, always eager to learn new tidbits about his life before Nerima.

He rolled his eyes. "With the stupid panda for a father?" he snorted. "If I had a yen for every bullet. And don't think I was always able to dodge either."

Akane had said that mostly as a joke, but when Ranma seemed completely serious, she became intrigued. "You mean this kind of thing would happen to you often?"

Ranma sighed, not too eager to remember the past. "One of the things I like about Nerima is that none of the people trying to kill me use guns. Plus, up until Saffron I have never been to kill or be killed situation" he added, almost whispering.

Akane had many questions but wisely decided to keep silent. Instead she remembered something else. "When did you fight that loser before?" she asked and Ranma's mood brightened.

"A year ago I became this ring's champion. Twice in fact since I fought both as a guy and as a girl. He tried to intimidate me in the ring so I put him down fast and hard."

Her eyes went wide. "You have fought here before? And you told nobody?"

He sighed. "I didn't exactly want to let your sister know I have money. And you didn't really think pop is giving me an allowance, did you?" he asked shooting her a withering glance.

"Damn, is there anything I try to do that you haven't already done better" she spat, mostly talking to herself. She knew comparing herself to her fiancé would rarely help her, but stubbornness was not a trait she could casually dismiss.

Ranma stuck his tongue out. "You can still skate better than me. And stop whining, you got the money didn't you?"

Akane bristled at that. "I hardly care about the money" she bellowed.

Ranma stopped walking and turned to fully regard her. "So why do you fight if not for the cash?" he asked inquisitively. She mumbled something too low to be heard. "What was that?"

She almost hissed in indignation. "It's because of you! Even though you are training me, you hardly ever hit me during practice. And when you do you hold back so much, I can barely feel it!" she shouted.

Ranma slapped a hand on his face. "So you're telling me that since I refuse to savagely beat you up, you go to an illegal tournament to find others to do so? Do you get off when people hurt you or something?" he asked receiving an elbow in his guts for his effort.

"Shut up! It's not like any of these idiots I've been fighting has been a challenge!" she retaliated.

Ranma smirked cruelly. "Is that so?" he asked in a condescending tone, bringing his hand to her face and running a thumb sensually along the gash on her jaw line. Akane didn't know how to react to that, the mixture of pain and pleasure his touch induced making her feel dizzy. Stepping out of his range she stifled a content sigh, angry with herself for allowing him to affect her so much.

"I have started healing much faster than before" she responded slowly. "It will be gone by tomorrow."

Ranma grinned. "And what about your arm?" he went on. "I saw a bit of your little fight, you know."

Akane frowned. "Just a few gashes and that's only because of that sword thing he had."

"Whip-sword" he stated, almost sounding bored. "Nasty things to fight against, but they have a lot of weaknesses."

His fiancée shrugged. "By next Friday I'll be as good as new."

"So you intent to keep doing this? Even after I found out and even though the fights will keep getting more and more dangerous" he spat, getting annoyed.

Akane frowned. "You are not my keeper, Ranma. And as I said, this is really your fault!"

"MY fault? You want to know what I think about that?" he roared enraged. "This must be THE MOST uncute..." he started.

"...arrogant, pigheaded..." she spat back.

"...tomboyish, idiotic..." he continued fuming.

"...insensitive, conceited..." she went on, leaning forward.

"...violent, macho..." he retaliated, copying the move.

"...perverted, irresponsible..." she continued.

"...thing you have EVER done!" he finished.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, causing their noses to touch.

They both froze at that, staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity and blushing accordingly, argument forgotten.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Ranma almost whispering.

Akane bit her lip. "For you to chicken out as you usually do" she replied in the same tone, almost bitterly.

Ranma's brows furred with thought at that. "Not this time" he responded and proceeded to kiss her, prompting the world around them to vanish in a haze of passion and desire.

Lost in the first kiss they ever shared that counted, they completely missed Ukyo that had at last deciphered how to use the GPS function, Ryouga that smashed through a wall close to them, Cologne carrying the other two amazons and Kodachi that chose that time to turn around the corner.

After what seemed like an eternity, their lips parted.

"Wow..." they both exclaimed, still afraid to look anywhere else in fear the other might disappear. After a while, however, Akane decided to look around. Her eyes went wide as she regarded the audience, their faces frozen in disbelief. "Um... Ranma...?" she started, not sure how to deal with what she felt would escalate to world wars three four and five.

Said martial artist had also noticed the uninvited guests, but there was something else demanding his undivided attention. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed, proceeding to throw Akane away from him as fast as he could. A blink later and before she could even touch the ground, her eyes went wide as an enormous chi blast ripped through one of the walls and engulfed Ranma, sending him through the building at the opposite side of the road.

A male figure emerged through the hole, a powerful golden aura burning around him and hiding his features. "Ranma Saotome, I presume. Do not worry, phoenix slayer. After I rip from your body whatever powers you gained when you killed Saffron, I shall finish your existence as painlessly as I can..."

- - -

16-06-07: Why a new story you will ask? Well, why not. Be warned that this will get a bit darker than my usual style, even though I expect even more insanity than the usual. In fact, the rating might change to M any time. You can expect gratuitous amounts of violence and death, as well as modern weapons along with the martial ones, both things not really encountered in canon. While talking about canon, I will consider everything in the anime that did not contradict the manga as such. Also note this story is AU when it comes to the technology used. You will see things that did not exist in the original story, like cell phones and security cameras. While the main pairing will be R/A, you can expect all four fiancées to play major roles since they will be forced to work together. While I'm not sure how often I'll be updating this, I will shamelessly admit reviews are my main driving force. And don't worry, this doesn't mean I'm abandoning anything else.


	2. Deck out

**Chapter 2: Deck-out**

Disclaimer: No woodland animals, cabbits or paramilitary grunts were injured during the production of this chapter. Vaporized, maybe, but certainly not injured...

- - -

The enemy figure stepped forward, his golden aura vanishing and making his features visible. His face, no older than thirty summers, was hardly exceptional and if not for the greenish hue of his dark hair and his bearing that spoke of great skill, nobody would pinpoint him in a crowd. His green and golden Chinese clothes were plain but practical and the only other distinguishable feature on his person was an ornamental brooch shaped like an Ouroboros serpent biting its tail while twisted to form an infinity symbol.

"For somebody that killed Saffron, he went down way too easily" he mused. "Perhaps his victory was a fluke." Moments later, he had to raise an arm and deflect a large piece of masonry that was poised to take his head. "Or not" he added, his eyes narrowing.

Ranma emerged from the hole of the fortunately unoccupied house, looking none the worse for wear. "Yeah, it's going to take more than some crummy chi blast to take me out" he declared, sounding fairly agitated. "I don't know who you are, but you are going down."

His opponent smirked. "How rude of me. I'm Rezzo, eighth Brass Finger of the Blank Globe syndicate. I have been sent to secure you by any means possible. Do not bother introducing yourself, I know who you are."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. While his opponent was clearly concealing his powers, he could tell he was good. "Rezzo, it is. Let me present a finger for a Finger then" he chuckled, displaying the appropriate aggravating hand gesture.

Rezzo failed to be impressed. "I'm sure we could spend a long time exchanging inane insults, but I believe I can think of something more interesting to do with my time. Watch the paint on a wall while it dries, for instance" he responded, vanishing from sight a second later.

"He is fast" muttered Ranma, concentrating a bit, then smiling. "But not fast enough" he added, dodging to the side as his opponent tried to blindside him with a vicious jab. Within the next second they both exchanged a furious barrage of punches jabs and palm strikes, most of which were blocked or parried. Ranma sensed a surge of chi from his opponent and quickly changed strategy. As a stream of energy emerged from Rezzo's open palm, he tilted his head to the side to avoid the blast, grabbing the offending wrist at the same time. The Brass Finger braced himself for a throw, but Ranma had other ideas. He rapidly flipped above his taller opponent, landing behind him and quickly turning to face his back, still holding the appendage that was now twisted above Rezzo's shoulder.

Smirking, Ranma placed his free hand on his foe's back. "MOKO TAKABISHA!" he exclaimed, releasing the confidence blast one-handed at point blank and freeing Rezzo's wrist a blink later.

The green clad warrior went flying with his arm dislocated and his spine in pain. He managed to gain control in midair, however, twisting and landing on his feet easily. With a fast motion, he raised his other hand and expertly reset his shoulder, ignoring the pain. Ranma gave no quarters, rushing forward to his exposed back, middle and index fingers extended and charged to hit the sleep point at the back of his neck. He was very surprised when a metal staff appeared out of thin air between his hand and his target.

"I think it is time I got serious" explained Rezzo, turning around, staff in hand.

- - -

In the meantime, the rest of the Nerima crew was trying to get their bearings. Ryouga and Ukyo seemed dazed, their minds not fully on the fight at hand but partly stuck in the past, right at the moment when they caught Akane and Ranma. Shampoo and Mousse were able to focus properly, ready to join the fight as soon as they could spy an opening. As per the amazon teachings, personal woes and happiness were irrelevant in the heat of battle. Kodachi was also paying attention, although she could easily tell the foe Ranma was fighting was far beyond her capabilities.

As for Akane, she quickly recovered from the unorthodox toss and was rapidly talking herself into trying to help her fiancé. Just as she was about to step forward, a wooden cane blocked her progress. She turned to glare at the offender, but Cologne seemed adamant.

"Stand your ground, child" she commanded sharply with the authority of a blooded war leader. "If you join son-in-law, you will only succeed in distracting him. This foe is beyond you."

Akane complied, although her hands were clenching the amazon's walking aid as if testing its integrity. Cologne could tell the younger Tendo was burning to rush in and try to help, most likely killing herself in the process. "We have to do something" she managed at length and Cologne nodded.

"If son-in-law starts losing badly, I will help him. However, what I am doing now is far more important for Ranma" she added cryptically, causing Akane to blink in confusion. The elder sighed. Youngsters these days could be so dense and clueless.

- - -

Rezzo soon proved his mastery of the staff was formidable. Using the longer reach and an impressive set of feints and strikes, he was successful in keeping Ranma occupied. The pigtailed martial artist refrained from attacking, eager to assess his opponent before trying to take him down. He was aware the self-proclaimed Brass Finger wanted to kill him or at last mortally injure him, but that was a common occurrence and not enough to cause him to go all out or use too lethal techniques. As he kept on dodging with grace beyond his years, his opponent started getting frustrated. Ranma could feel that and was hoping for an opening he could exploit. After a full minute of dancing around, however, Rezzo had proven it would be very difficult to lose his composure.

Ranma decided information gathering was in order. "You are not too much of a slouch after all" he remarked smirking, ducking a blow and leaping above twin low swipes. "This Blank Globe syndicate must think highly of me to send their best agent to get me" he added, trying to gauge Rezzo's reaction while the other warrior released a double spin kick followed by a swarm of staff thrusts.

The green-clad fighter did not disappoint. "As much as I'd want that to be the truth, I'll have to surprise you. As I said, I am the eighth of the Fingers. There are another seven that surpass me in prowess" he explained, taking a second to grin at Ranma's apparent indignation, then intoning his words by rapidly spinning his weapon towards Ranma.

"So they sent a mere underling? Aren't they cocky" he teased, expertly redirecting the blows and causing Rezzo to lose his rhythm.

His opponent smiled in condensation. "You are most unfortunate, boy. I know and accept my place. Time to learn yours" he exclaimed. That was the only warning Ranma had before a blade made of golden chi erupted from the top of Rezzo's staff, effectively turning it into a naginata. Not missing a beat, he swung the sharp weapon and Ranma had to leap backwards lest he lost an arm. The blade sliced through a car like a hot knife through butter causing the young Saotome's eyes to go wide. His leap caused him to rebound off a wall and reach the top of a power pole.

Rezzo spared no time, neatly slicing the column and causing it to collapse, cables and all. In response, Ranma retrieved one of Mousse's throwing knives from hidden weapon space and sliced one of the power lines, mindful to insulate his hand with his sleeve. Before the pole could crash down, he carefully grasped the cable and flung its tip towards his staff-wielding opponent. Rezzo instinctively tried to bat it away, but his metal weapon proved to be a good conduit. The electric current sent him flying backwards, although he refused to release his staff.

Ranma landed a moment later, then blinked in disbelief as his opponent recovered in seconds, albeit moving a bit slower than before since his muscles were still affected by the discharge. Changing tactics, Rezzo tried to skewer the younger Saotome by performing an onslaught of unpredictable forward thrusts, keeping Ranma away. The heir of the anything goes smirked and concentrated. Pouring chi in his hands, he snapped forward, arresting the spiritual blade between his pals and avoiding its edge. Before Rezzo could realize what was happening, Ranma twisted his body while still holding the blade, causing his feet to collide with his opponent's face. He then proceeded to make a very persuasive amaguriken with his legs, kicking repeatedly at the stunned Brass Finger and assaulting his head and upper body. He closed the attack with a flip kick that caused him to clear his opponent's weapon and launched Rezzo through another one of the constantly diminishing walls around them.

"Had enough yet?" he asked, breathing harder than usual.

His opponent was slow to rise, taking a second to wipe blood from his face and straighten his chin. "You are no mere martial artist, kid" he responded frowning. Gripping his staff, he caused the blade to its tip to vanish and be replaced by a ball of energy.

"It took you long enough to realize" replied Ranma, now smirking. "Are you going to use that thing as a mace now?" he asked, his eyes glued on the altered staff. A moment later, he ducked out of the way as a chi blast, comparable to the first one that hit him, erupted from the weapon and sped towards him. To his disbelief, the projectile altered direction in midair, still clipping him painfully.

"Homing chi blasts" he muttered to himself as he tried to dodge a second attack. The third one that followed promptly afterwards blew him off his feet and through a stone fence and he felt his body trying to fall unconscious.

- - -

Up to that point, even the most heartbroken of the audience were fully focused on the battle, staring in disbelief at the incredible skill of both combatants. When Ranma fell and failed to promptly rise, they decided to join the fray. Akane, in an incredible display of agility, dodged around Cologne's effort to stop her, manifesting a mallet out of her chi and sending it flying. Rezzo used his staff to bat the weapon away almost as an afterthought, deflecting it upwards where it demolished a building's corner. He then moved his staff to casually parry Ryouga's umbrella hard enough to toss the overweight weapon out of the lost boy's grip.

"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" he bellowed hardly fazed, ducking away from the staff's return swing and poking the ground at Rezzo's feet. Before the explosion could happen, the green-clad warrior leaped in the air and landed on Ryouga's back, flattening him and using the lost boy's body as a shield. The breaking point technique threw them off the ground and Rezzo casually swung his weapon once more, catching Ryouga on the head and sending him to dig a deep trench on the tarmac below.

Landing casually at the opposite side of the explosion, he held his staff with one hand, neatly blocking Akane's second mallet, Shampoo's twin bonbori, Ukyo's battle spatula and a sword, a club and a kitchen sink, curtsy of Mousse. All four opponents tried to push together, but all gasped in disbelief as the green-clad warrior refused to budge an inch. Rezzo raised a brow when Kodachi's gymnastics ribbon wrapped around the butt end of his weapon and attempted to throw him off balance.

"Five on one and you still can't do it?" he observed mirthfully, causing everybody else to snarl in indignation. He then proceeded to flare his aura violently, the shockwave passing through his opponents' weapons and tossing them away like so many flies. Turning to the side sharply, he snap-kicked Ryouga that was attempting to blindside him. "Perhaps I should get rid of all you weaklings right away" he mused. He had to curse as he barely managed to avoid a fractured skull, dodging Cologne's cane that left a three-meter radius crater around the point of its impact.

"I believe I'll be able to give you a challenge, sonny boy" taunted the amazon mirthfully, silently wishing the rest would not rise to get in her way any time soon.

Instead of scowling, Rezzo, bowed his head in respect, then attacked. Staff clashed against cane many times and the Brass Finger found himself being pushed backwards. Cologne kept pressing her advantage, masterfully forcing her opponent into an offensive spiral. While Rezzo did not release too much of an aura, Cologne's mastery of the soul of ice contrasted to the air around them that was saturated with chi would suffice for an impressive Ascending Dragon Blast. She swore in mandarin as her opponent manifested a blade at the end of his staff and took a hit from her cane to try and slice directly at her body. Her spiral ruined, Cologne poured her chi away from her cane and back into her body, reinforcing the area that was about to be attacked. Rezzo gasped in disbelief as his impromptu naginata bounced off the retired matriarch's body. Thinking fast, he created a second blade at the butt end of his weapon and slashed at the wooden cane a moment later.

Cologne sent him flying by reflex, but the damage had been done. Her cane, used by her as a chi battery, was fractured by the surprise hit. The ludicrous amount of spirit energy tried to escape from its containment, causing the cane to explode violently. Cologne maintained the presence of mind to toss it away, but was still caught in the blast.

"Lady Artemis is pretty miffed with me it seems" she muttered, trying to will the world around her to stop spinning. Shutting her eyes, she brought two fingers to her temple and pressed the pressure points that would cause her to rapidly recover from her apparent concussion. When she opened them again, she saw a chi blade poised to relieve the head off her shoulders.

"MOKO TAKABISHA DOUBLE!" came the cry and the amazon elder sighed in relief as Rezzo's body performed a textbook ballistic flight. Perhaps she would live to grow twice as old after tonight. "Get them out of here, Cologne" demanded Ranma, indicating the dazed but fast recovering members of the wrecking crew and never bothering with the 'old ghoul' nickname. "He is mine" he added, his voice iced steel and the amazon had to remind herself that shuddering is not dignified for elders.

"You still have some fight in you then" stated more than asked Rezzo as he collected himself from the rubble. Twirling his staff, he started releasing a steady volley of homing chi blasts that did their best to strike the Saotome youth.

_I have to think of something and fast. _Pondered Ranma as he dived behind a car to avoid the first blasts then launched a convenient trashcan to intercept the next. Frowning, he released another chi blast of his own, not even bothering to announce it. The two shots collided in midair and dissipated but Rezzo seemed unfazed and determined to defeat his opponent with old-fashioned brute force.

_Martial arts 101: If you can't dodge or block, then redirect. _Ranma concentrated again, firing a smaller chi blast. It fizzled against the next projectile but successfully altered its trajectory to crash it on the ground. Ranma sighed as he leaped above another shot that blasted the wall behind him.

_Is this guy for real? His blasts are as strong as Herb's and he is barely winded. Herb's blasts... Perhaps I can pull another Hiryū Kōrin Dan against this guy. Between the old ghoul's staff and his blasts there is enough chi around here to shoot several. _Entering the soul of ice, Ranma kept dodging while trying to will the cold energy his body generated into a tight spiral before him. Just as he was about to form a horizontal mini-tornado to suck the excess energy, one of Rezzo's chi blasts got him and he was blasted through a tree trunk.

_Note to self. Do not presume your opponents will be as stupid as Herb and allow you to develop new techniques on the spot. Okay, a chi blast is made out of spirit energy and a chi construct that keeps it together and makes it move. I'll just aim for the construct's weak point. _Now openly smiling, he brought both his hands forward, facing the next batch of incoming blasts without flinching.

"HIRYŪ JOUGO DAN!"

- - -

As soon as Ranma resumed his fight, Cologne hastily collected the downed martial artists, removing them from the battle's epicenter. Ryouga and Kodachi seemed still out of it, but the rest were already stirring.

"I don't believe that jackass" spat Ukyo, rubbing a particularly nasty bruise on her arm. "He brushed as away as if we were nothing.

Shampoo nodded. "He too too powerful and scary. Only Ranma and Grandmother a match for him" she added groggily, shaking her head to clear away the dancing little amazons. "We only get in way" she finished sadly, biting her lip.

"Xian Pu, my love! Are you safe?" exclaimed Mousse, jumping towards Akane and earning a mallet in the face for his effort.

"Really, sugar, you should put a lease on lover-boy there" commented Ukyo while Shampoo nodded.

"Disregarding blind amazon gropes, what are we going to do now?" asked Akane, sparing a glare towards the once again dazed Mousse. "We can't just watch!"

Cologne had retrieved a second cane, identical to the first from hidden weapon space and used it to neatly brain all three girls. "You can and you will" she ordered, frowning as she watched Ranma dancing around an onslaught of chi-balls. "You know very well that son-in-law is not very good with teamwork. Even if you WERE a match for this opponent, you'd still get in his way," she added, wincing as Ranma was squarely nailed by one of the blasts. She sighed in relief when he shrugged it off immediately.

"Anyone got the number of the tank that got me?" asked Ryouga dazed as he and Kodachi started to stir.

"The tank would probably need to get **your** number, Hibiki" commented Mousse, shaking the lost boy out of his stupor. "It's this Rezzo guy that wiped the floor with us" he reminded and Ryouga snarled.

"How dare he! If anyone's going to off Ranma, it's me!" he declared, ignoring the baneful stares from the group's female population. The gnarled cane that tripped him could not be ignored, though.

"Save your strength, child" advised the amazon elder, frowning at how she seemed to be talking to kindergarten kids instead of almost adult warriors. "A chance might present itself."

"O-ho-ho. There will be no need for that. Ranma-sama will surely prevail against such dastardly a foe" offered Kodachi and the rest were split between cheering along her or knocking her out to escape her shrill voice.

They all watched mesmerized as Ranma took another blast, then extended his hand forward.

"HIRYŪ JOUGO DAN!"

Ukyo raised a brow. "Heavenly dragon funnel bomb? What kind of crazy technique is that?" she asked, mostly at Cologne.

They observed in disbelief as an extremely thin, ice-cold tornado erupted horizontally from Ranma's hands, writhing like a serpent and piercing every chi blast it encountered. Akane and Cologne even noticed how the air around the attack seemed to glow.

"There is no such technique that I know of" stated the amazon elder, her eyes secretly awed. "He devised it on the fly."

The mini-tornado vanished and they all gasped as Ranma released a chi blast of his own that caused everybody's extrasensory senses to wail in horror. The ebbing ball of energy, blue and golden swirls dancing on its surface, shot towards a very stunned Rezzo and detonated in a luminous explosion that shamed Ryouga's perfect Shishi Hokodan.

Before the attack's dust and smoke could subside, Ranma created another tornado, preparing a second shot in mere moments.

"He is sucking the energy from the blasts as well as the ambient chi, and pours it all into one attack" marveled Cologne. "He would need years of training to do that normally."

Akane sighed in relief. "That's Ranma for you" she muttered, almost talking to herself. She had to wince again when the second blast detonated, widening the crater.

- - -

Ranma cockily looked down on Rezzo while standing at the edge of the twenty-meter wide crater. The Brass Finger did manage to stand, a testament to his endurance, but the strain was evident in each of his moves.

"Are you ready to give up, yet?" asked Ranma, the beginnings of another Funnel Bomb visible on his hand. "I know you can still fight, but between your wounds and the energy you have used, there can't be too much chi left in you."

Rezzo offered him a tiny smile. "Unfortunately, I will keep trying until I either succeed or can't go on" he clarified. His eyes briefly danced to his side. "And as you know anybody can be brought down when a weakness is exploited."

Without bothering to clarify, he brought a finger to his brooch. "Fire at non targets at my command" he whispered, then his smile turned ugly. "As you may recall, this is hardly a duel for me. Team one, team two!" he bellowed and everybody's eyes went wide.

Ranma sensed a weak glow of fighting spirit and turned incredulously to watch as a team of ten black clad individuals sporting automatic weapons appeared on one of the surviving roofs. They were aiming towards the rest of the group, but for a brief second Ranma could only see Akane. After that second and before a single bullet could be fired, the young Saotome performed another 'Hiryū Jougo Dan' that completely vaporized the upper half of the building and anyone on it. A second team emerged from one of the corners at the opposite side, also taking aim.

"You lose" whispered Rezzo as a chi blast got him squarely at the back of his neck, knocking him out. "Team three, now!" he added, recovering a syringe from his clothes and injecting Ranma.

- - -

Cologne sensed Ranma's chi blast and ignored the first team. The second one, however, would have to face an angry amazon elder. She spared a glance towards the rest of the wrecking crew, confirming that most of them were too tired, too injured or not skilled enough to dodge the incoming hail of bullets. With a sigh, she appeared between the two groups, cane moving faster than the eye could follow. Seconds later, the whole hostile team fell to the ground, killed by their own bullets that were deflected back at them.

"Ranma!" screamed Akane and Cologne turned around swearing. Rezzo, carrying an unconscious pigtailed martial artist, was half-way up a ladder attached to a black helicopter that was already moving away. Cologne raised her cane, sending a silver chi blast of her own that destroyed the vehicle's back rotor, causing it to spin out of control. Then her eyes went wide as Rezzo, still carrying his cargo, leaped on a second helicopter that vanished into the night just as the first one crashed down in an impressive and explosive display.

"Damn, damn it all!" snarled the amazon elder, falling to her knees in defeat. Some seconds later, she turned to regard the ashen faces of everybody around her and could distinctively feel the despair seeping from their auras. She decided that if she were to help Ranma, she would have to help his friends and rivals first. Most of them had not even realized it, but in times of crisis, Ranma had been their unchallenged leader, always dependable and always invincible.

"Snap out of it, all of you!" she demanded harshly. "Tonight we lost, but tomorrow we can still save Ranma." She sensed how most of them did not want to wait. "All of you are tired and couldn't fight your way out of an anthill. You will go to the places you call homes and you will rest" she ordered and was very relieved when all of them nodded mutely.

- - -

Akane reached the Tendo estate with small slow and mechanic steps. Her sisters were waiting for her at the gate, their faces streaked with worry.

"Akane!" exclaimed Kasumi, rushing and hugging her sister, growing even more worried when she failed to react.

Nabiki frowned. "Cologne called and told us what happened. Auntie Saotome is worried out of her mind, father is wailing and uncle Saotome is trying very hard to remain calm. I guess you don't want to deal with them now" she stated more than asked.

Akane simply nodded and walked inside, causing her sisters to exchange glances. "She is in shock" noted Kasumi and the middle Tendo shot her a 'you think so, genius' glance. They went inside just in time to hear Akane's door being locked.

- - -

Cologne left Shampoo's and Mousse's rooms after making sure they were both asleep and that they would remain asleep for at least eight hours. None of them had said a lot after the battle, but she had been in enough wars to know how they felt. For Mousse, Ranma had been a rival, a friend and an idol. Seeing the one that slain Saffron despite the odds falling and failing like that had been a vicious hit to his world image.

As for Shampoo, she had even more reason to be decimated. Cologne was not sure when her heir stopped pursuing Ranma because of the law and when she started doing so for her own reasons. Sometimes, the elder thought this had never been about the law.

Sighing, she descended to her base of operations, three basements below her restaurant. In her nicknamed Neko-Cave, she made it a point to find any information on the Blank Globe syndicate. Sleep could wait for her, after all.

- - -

Ukyo and Kodachi were not sure how to feel. They both reached their homes alone and they both collapsed in Konatsu's and Sasuke's arms respectively. They both fell asleep seconds later, even though Kodachi had to use her ribbon once more to gag her brother that was babbling something about Ranma and dark sorcerers.

Their sleep was fitful and uneasy.

- - -

Akane collapsed on her hands and knees as soon as she was behind her locked door. Her eyes were wide but refused to shed tears just yet. Bringing her fingers to her mouth, she tried to remember how Ranma's kiss had felt.

"He wanted me" she whispered. "Out of everybody else, he wanted me." Of course she had known that for some time but having it confirmed affected her much more than she would have thought.

Reaching for her bag, she retrieved her gi, the one she had worn earlier that night, the one she had triumphed in. Her hands clenched uncontrollably on the rough fabric and a single tear left her face. "I'm a martial artist too" she whispered dejectedly. "What a joke" she added mirthlessly, tossing the garment to the other side of the room with unnecessary violence.

"I should be able to stand beside him as his partner, but instead... he lost because they used me as a distraction. A worthless, worthless distraction." Intellectually, Akane knew that was not true per se. She knew she was part of the elite one-percent when it came to martial arts. If she wanted to, she could have broken any official athletic record in the world that did not involve swimming.

As she pitifully crawled on her bed and fell asleep seconds later, she also knew it had not been enough.

- - -

Akane woke up late in the next morning. Mercifully, she managed to enjoy a full minute of calmness before last night's disaster crashed in. Groaning, she left her bed, muscles stiff. She would have berated herself for not taking a chance to relax in the furo before sleeping but she had more important things to do. Then her eyes went wide and the ghost of a smile appeared in her face.

"P-chan!" she exclaimed, hugging the small animal tightly. A bit too tightly it seemed since Ryouga almost lost consciousness. "I really needed to see you today," she added calmly. "Isn't it ironic? I can finally admit how much I love Ranma and that jerk is probably being tortured somewhere. Or perhaps he has already escaped and will come through the door any second now like nothing is wrong" she added, not really daring to hope. "If he does that, I'm first going to brain him just enough to leave him conscious for making me worry, then I'm going to improve our... lip technique for the rest of the day" she added, her mood becoming brighter by the second.

She absently noticed a thermos on her desk and she guessed Kasumi had brought it there yesterday. Opening it, she confirmed it was tea and still warm. Sighing in delight, she never bothered with caps, drinking directly from the bottle.

Then she choked, spilling some of the tea.

With an oblivious P-chan still on her lap.

A P-chan that turned into a white-faced and very naked Ryouga right before her eyes.

The neighbors watched in disbelief as a deep crimson light vaporized one of the Tendo estate's walls, seared the top of the Tendo fence and left a burning three meter deep crater on the road with a naked and unconscious young man inside.

Oh well, stranger things were known to happen.

- - -

22-06-07: And thus ends the second chapter. I hope you liked the battle, even though it lasted a bit too much. I'm trying to balance angst with some humor, but I have to confess it's tricky. At least the next chapters will prove a bit less dark than this one. To answer Kachie's reservations, I don't think plucking bullets out of the air is beyond Ranma. In the breaking point arc, he was able to pluck hundreds of fast-moving pebbles out of the air in less than a second. Seeing as the breaking point is like a grenade blast sans the metal shards and keeping in mind that my Ranma had six months of more intense than usual training after Saffron, catching bullets is nothing. And he is still not Superman. Superman doesn't need to dodge or catch bullets ;-) Anyway, I want to thank everybody for the reviews and alerts. They supply me with proper motivation.


	3. Wild horse missing

**Chapter 3: Wild horse missing**

Disclaimer: Your Ranma has gained a level. Ranma has mastered 'martial arts bubblegum chewing' up to the third dan. Please allocate Ranma's skillpoints...

- - -

His sleep was marred by nightmares that raked his very soul. His benevolent angel had turned into an avatar of vengeance at the drop of a hat, her eyes crimson lasers of searing might that sought to incinerate him, her face a mask of unholy indignation. The scarlet corona of light around her had coalesced between her stiff, crooked fingers, condensing into a ball of angry red. She then had unleashed her power on him, and his world had become a haze of bloodied mist. Her keen of fury would forever echo in his ears as he had smashed through barriers that were never meant to contain her righteous wrath.

After a brief period of darkness, Ryouga slowly returned to consciousness, remembering with dread that his supposed nightmare had been very very real.

He cautiously opened an eye, not really sure what to expect. The first thing he saw was his angel. Akane seemed to be absorbed in the work at hand, hardly paying attention to him. He tried to move, but realized his whole body below the neck was numb and unresponsive.

If Akane had realized he was awake, she gave no indication. Instead, she was busy nailing some planks together, using a tiny hammer and trying to be gentle enough not to ruin everything with excessive force. _I guess Ranma is sometimes right to call me a tomboy,_ she mused, expertly hammering the last of the nails and stepping back to admire her workmanship. Even before Ranma entered her life, she had enjoyed fixing things with her hands. By now she was as accomplished a carpenter as Ranma himself. It certainly made sense if one considered how often the Tendo estate suffered collateral damage.

Ryouga ripped his eyes off Akane and focused again on his predicament. The Tendo girl had just finished attaching a wooden frame of one of the family room walls. More importantly, his wrists and ankles were tied on said frame with metal cords that kept him erect even though none of his muscles were responsive. Not really sure what to expect, Ryouga glanced around to the now seated Akane, gulping a bit as he noticed her new task. The table in the middle of the room was full of kitchen knives, keen and shinny despite the fact they had obviously been used many times. Akane was using a whetstone, diligently sharpening them with undue concentration.

While Ryouga was debating whether it would be wise to draw attention to himself, Akane's eyes met his own, her face featuring a smile that seemed somehow wrong. "Kasumi is very adamant about keeping her knives sharp" she exclaimed, looking at her face that was reflected on the item she held. "Can you believe Daddy taught all three of his daughters how to throw them as weapons? He taught me at five, too."

Ryouga shuddered at her tone. It was too casual, too surreal for his current predicament. "A-Akane-san! That is... you see..." he tried, his face widening when a knife left the dark-haired girl's fingers and embedded next to his head, barely missing his ear.

"You wonder why you are still breathing, **P-chan?" **she asked in a mocking tone that caused him to shudder. He decided Akane could be very scary. "There are some very specific reasons," she added, not bothering to wait for a nod. "First of all, you are still somewhat of a friend. We have been in too many deadly situations and Ranma would be mad at me if I flailed you alive."

Her smile turned wicked. "So, even though you are a honorless, perverted, violent, glomping, backstabbing, shameless, deceiving, peeping, pigheaded, vengeful and useless hog that disregards all propriety in favor of cheep thrills and stomps on those who offer you friendship, you still get to live. Isn't that wonderful, **P-chan?**"

"I..." tried Ryouga again nonplussed, but a second knife that missed his neck muted him. He unconsciously tried to flee, but his body failed to respond.

"Another reason is that I finally, **finally** learned how to throw chi blasts. I have been trying for a long time, you know." Her cheerful facade dropped a bit and she frowned. "Although I'll have to find a focus other than anger. It took me two liters of Kasumi's special tea to calm down." Soon her demeanor turned all-cute again. "So, how about you tell me about your first visit to Jusenkyo, **Pig-boy" **she asked while filing another knife. "We have some hours before that full body paralysis point I pressed wears off."

"I followed Ranma there after he run away from our man-to-man..." he started, yelping as another knife embedded just below his armpit. The fact that it was gleaming with a reddish hue spoke volumes about how much the breaking point conditioning would help him against a hit.

"You don't want me upset, **P-chan**. It makes my hand all jittery. So, what happened after you came four days late and **defaulted** the fight?"

"I...I reached the cursed springs, then a panda bowled me over. When I tried to land safely, Ranma in girl form pushed me in..." he tried, stopping when a faint glow filled the room. "I mean, Ranma in girl form passed above me and knocked me in the spring of the drowned pig."

Kasumi chose that moment to enter the room, carrying more tea. "Still playing with Ryouga-kun, Akane? Oh my, Ranma told me about how angry he was with uncle Saotome after he was cursed" she noted, sitting down and retrieving her sewing kit. "He asked me if he should modify some of his old clothes so that they would fit him when he changed or whether he should just throw them away."

Akane raised a brow. "His clothes were too loose?" she asked in a searching tone.

"Why yes" replied Kasumi, blushing a bit. "He usually bought clothes a few sizes larger before the curse. When he got cursed, he lost both his pants and his boxers within the first seconds."

Ryouga gulped audibly as Akane's glare attempted to drill holes through his skull. "So it's Ranma's fault he passed above you as a girl wearing nothing more than a loose gi top. Did you get a good look, **P-chan?** Did you nosebleed yourself into the spring? Did it open your appetite for more?" she asked, her voice steadily increasing until she was almost yelling. Then she calmed down and smiled at Kasumi. "Here sis" she started, handing her a knife. "Dad would throw a fit if he knew you haven't been practicing from time to time. You know how he values his little girls' safety."

The elder Tendo took the item hesitantly. "I don't know, Akane. It's been a long time since I last tried." She threw a look a Ryouga and the lost boy could swear her serene face changed into a fierce scowl for an instant. "Still, you are right. I can't let my aim get any more atrocious. Be careful, Ryouga-kun!" she finished smiling.

The knife went flying and the tied martial artist yelped again and tilted his head to the side. The knife would have relieved him of his eye. "Sister, that was awful! You need more training," exclaimed Akane teasingly.

Kasumi smiled again. "Oh, I don't know Akane. I think I still have it."

Akane turned to regard him again. "So, let's talk about how you tried and nearly succeeded to destroy Ranma's happiness -and mine by association- as you promised you would and why Ranma kept covering your porcine ways. **Then,** when Nabiki has more information, we will join the others and try to figure out where Ranma is."

Ryouga glanced at the table in trepidation. There were still too many knives left...

- - -

Ranma finally managed to wake up, although he refrained from opening his eyes or even moving. He had a lot of experience with unconsciousness after all and he was well aware things could become worse if he opened his eyes unthinkingly. Not moving a muscle, he used the rest of his senses, both mundane and extrasensory.

He could smell his own scent, then the subtle but persistent smell of some professional heavy-duty cleaner, which almost covered the scent of many different people. _I don't really stink, so it must be less than 24 hours since that bastard Rezzo drugged me. Also I'm probably in some public or semi-public place. An airport, a station, a dock or a hotel... _

He felt the chair he was tied on. His ankles were secured together and on one of the chair's legs with rope while his arms were tied at the chair's back. More importantly, he could feel a pair or handcuffs around his wrists that demanded his attention. _The ropes would be nothing normally, but I'm still quite weak from what he dumped in my bloodstream. But these handcuffs... They are magic and will suppress most of my chi if I try to break free. _He experimentally moved his wrists, channeling a tiny amount of life energy to assess their capabilities. _I could probably overload them if I dumped enough chi, but it could prove explosive. They are quite loose, though..._

Suppressing a sigh, he extended his chi senses as far as he dared. _An average room, very possibly a hotel room. A window four meters to my left, a door six meters in front of me, another door to the right, two guards chatting five meters away. No serious martial artists but armed with knives and guns, probably automatic ones. They are very relaxed, therefore they don't know just what I can do. _

Ranma concentrated briefly on the background noise, hearing the remote bustle one would find in a commercial district, then focused on the conversation his two guards were engaged in. He wanted to make his escape soon, while no serious opponents were around, but he also understood the grave need for information.

"... and then she up and slapped her own sister" chuckled one of the guards, prompting the other to respond in kind.

"That guy is still out like a light. Why do we have to guard him, anyway, he's just a kid."

"Don't know, boss's orders, man. Master Rezzo creeps me out sometimes. What does he expect, the guy to slip out of his bonds and get the drop on us?"

"It might even worth it to let him escape, if only to see some action. Master Rezzo said he could trace him by his aura or something stupid like that."

"Don't be an idiot. Master hates it when prisoners escape; he'll have our heads. Plus, having to kill anyone he talks to after he escapes won't be that fun. I mean, last time Rezzo had us shoot a fucking toddler. Even I have my limits, man."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Be glad we are under him and not someone else. I've heard the fifth Brass Finger is a true sadist far beyond what master Rezzo can be. His men usually end up insane after a while and they take them at the labs."

"Don't even talk about those places, man. I was posted as a guard in one two months ago and even if I could only peek inside when the doors would open, I still get nightmares."

"Feh, as far as I'm paid and I stay alive and well, I'll do their dirty job."

Ranma stopped listening, mulling the information inside his mind for a bit. He barely managed to hide a wicked smile when he thought of an escape plan. Normally, he would be very reluctant to resort to lethal or even crippling force, but hearing that little piece of conversation totally muted his conscience.

He took a deep breath then started coughing awkwardly, opening his eyes a bit and settling for a blank stare that would indicate a still drugged brain. The two guards snapped their attention to their quarry, sighing in relief when they perceived him as harmless. Ranma gradually started coughing louder and more intense, causing them to grow uncomfortable.

"Well, don't just stand there, man, bring the guy a glass of water" said one after a while.

"I... should, shouldn't I?" replied the other unsure.

"Rezzo said to keep him unharmed, man. Now, he won't be that unharmed if he chokes on his own spit, will he?"

The second guard sighed and proceeded to fill a glass with some tap water. "Bottoms ups" he joked as he placed the container on Ranma's lips and tried to upend it gently.

Ranma took his cue. His eyes snapped to attention and he angrily bit at the glass, breaking it and spilling most of the water on his lap, which predictably became **her** lap. Still holding a very sharp piece of glass in her mouth, she surged forward, using the shard to sever the guard's vocal chords before he had a chance to recover from his stupor. At the same time she relaxed her much slimmer wrists and folded her thumps, allowing the handcuffs to drop to the floor. The other guard never noticed a thing until it was too late, since the first guard's bulk hid everything. A second later, Ranma had snapped her bonds, had snatched the first guard's knife and had sent it flying with enough force to lodge it in the second guard's brain though his eye socket.

Letting a breath she didn't know she was holding, Ranma surveyed her surroundings. She was on the fifth floor of a pretty decent hotel somewhere in downtown Tokyo, she noted. At first she considered simply jumping from the window. Five floors were nothing to be concerned about. Then she thought something else. She hesitated for a second, then finished off the first guard that had passed out from the shock. Killing like that made her feel dirty, but she was intent to keep her curse a secret. Casually picking the chair she had been bound on, she threw it though the window, causing an alarm to go off, then donned the Umisenken and vanished.

- - -

Mousse was forced to make an express journey from the land of the asleep to the real world when a bucket of water was emptied right on his face. The momentary relief of not having his curse activated was offset by the fact said water was almost boiling. That prompted another express journey, this time from his bed to the ceiling rafters.

"HOOOT!!" he exclaimed predictably, unconsciously trying to get rid of his soaked nightclothes.

"Stop clowning around, Mu Tzu" came the voice of his beloved. Shampoo discarded her bucket and produced twin bonbori from hidden weapon space. "Xian Pu has need of you" she added.

Even though Mousse had already retrieved his glasses, it should not come as a surprise he misinterpreted his love's words, ignoring the weapons and her aggressive stance. "You have finally seen the light, my love!" he exclaimed, hot water forgotten as he made a lunge for her embrace. The blunt weapons impacting his skull made him reconsider.

"Duckboy stupid. You and Xian Pu not training enough. We disgrace for Joketsuzoku, too too lazy. We spar together now!" she demanded, a wild flame dancing behind her eyes.

Mousse blinked stupidly. "But I don't want to fight you, my love" he responded meekly. He had to yelp and dodge frantically when a glowing bonbori attempted to break him in twain. He gulped as the wall behind him, where the weapon hit, exploded violently.

A grin found its way on Shampoo's features. "If duckboy not fight, so be it. Mu Tzu still better than training dummy. Mu Tzu can dodge or have bones broken."

The male amazon made a very convincing imitation of a fish out of water with his mouth then had to dodge once more and leap through his room's new hole, enraged Shampoo snapping at his heels.

Cologne heard the commotion from below while sipping her tea. She had to suppress a yawn, having spent the entire night looking for information and consulting her contacts, both mundane and supernatural. She sighed as she sensed her heir's turbulent spirit and decided to allow her some time to vent. If Mousse truly loved her, he could prove it by providing her some outlet.

- - -

Ukyo woke up with a gasp, her troubled sleep causing her heart to beat madly. "Tears" she murmured as her hand mechanically wiped her eyes. She regarded her room, her gaze stopping at the dirty clothes on one of the chairs. "Not a nightmare" she whispered, grinding her teeth. Gathering her resolve, she left her futon, ignoring her body's protest. She decided she was lucky she only had a couple of nasty bruises from last night's ordeal.

"Ranchan will be fine, he always is" she muttered as she walked to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, when she went downstairs to eat the breakfast Konatsu had prepared, she realized she had repeated the same phrase at least thirty times.

The male kunoichi regarded his mistress concerned. While he only knew about the fight secondhand, from what Cologne had told him on the phone, he could read the depression oozing from Ukyo without even trying to check her aura. "Are you alright, Mistress Ukyo?" he asked, needing to hear her voice if only to make sure she was not sleepwalking.

He did not expect a dry chuckle in response. "Tell me, Konatsu. How would you grade my fighting ability? You are skilled enough to answer that."

The ninja blinked at the question. "You are a respectable fighter, Mistress Ukyo" he started carefully. "From what I know about your family style, not only have you mastered it, you have added your own techniques, too."

Ukyo clenched her teeth painfully and the glass in his grasp shattered. Her hand was too charged with chi to sustain any physical damage but that was the last worry in Konatsu's mind. "What a load of bull" she snorted. "I only train just enough to keep in shape. The last time I trained seriously was when I had to fight against Crepe Joe and that was more than a year ago" she spat.

"Mistress Ukyo, just because the enemy you fought was stronger than you doesn't mean..."

Ukyo did not let him finish. "No, you listen to me sugar. You asked me if I'm alright, now you get to listen to my answer. He wasn't just better, Konatsu. Myself, Akane, Shampoo, Kodachi, Mousse and Ryouga attacked at the same time. He didn't even have to turn our attacks against us. We were so out of our depth, he simply overwhelmed us. He batted us aside like damn children. He fought Cologne on even basis! Even Ranchan was hard pressed and he was the most effective against that Rezzo bastard. And guess what, when Ranchan was ready to win, his enemy used the lot of us as distractions. Do you know what this means?" she asked, her voice escalating with every word.

Konatsu was stunned by that description but tried to console the woman he secretly loved. "It's not your fault he was stronger, mistress Ukyo" he tried again.

She shook her head dejected. "You don't understand, Konatsu. For ten years I trained to fight Ranchan, even though I still had feelings for him. For two years I tried to make him see me as a woman, as somebody he'd want to marry. But not being able to help him when he needs help... It proves I was never worthy of being his wife in the first place. With the life he leads, things like that would happen all the time. Hell, yesterday I proved I'm not even worthy of being his damn friend!"

"Being his friend doesn't mean you have to fight his fights for..."

"Like hell it doesn't! Akane is the only one who understood soon enough. When I first came to Nerima, she was weaker than I was. Now she might have even surpassed Shampoo. While everybody else was trying to keep up with Ranchan, she was the only one that closed some of the gap. And even that was not enough!"

Konatsu was getting desperate as the woman sitting next to him kept spiraling in depression. "Mistress Ukyo, it's not healthy to live in the past. You must live with your mistakes and try to fix them" he added diplomatically. He was really glad his kunoichi training encompassed social skills as well as physical. He raised a brow when Ukyo's mood shifted fast enough to give his chi senses whiplash.

"You want to help me, sugar?" she asked searchingly, grinning when he quickly nodded. "Then train me Konatsu. You are far better than me and you even fought Ranchan to a draw once."

The male kunoichi blanched at that, remembering his own grueling training days. "That draw was a fluke. He...he was holding back and..." he stuttered, deciding to shut up when he saw Ukyo's crazy glare.

"I'll say this only once. Until somebody can tell me where Ranchan is, the only way you can help me is to train me, Konatsu. It's your choice." With that, the chestnut-haired chef left the room, leaving her charge alone and in turmoil.

- - -

Rezzo strode in the room, glaring at his second in command that almost quaked in fear. "Report!" he commanded.

"There is not much evidence, sir" he replied hesitantly. "It seems the prisoner tricked his guards, killed them and escaped, probably through the window. Do you wish to send some men to follow him back to his home?"

Rezzo concentrated a bit, closing his eyes. "That's weird. He seems to be close yet he is hiding almost perfectly from my senses" a few seconds later, his eyes snapped open. "Now he vanished completely!" he exclaimed. Sighing, he regarded his options. "There is no need to send anyone to Nerima. There are some powerful individuals there and we can't yet afford to clash with them. Saotome is probably too smart to return there. In time I will find him. He won't be able to keep hiding in his sleep and the next time he needs to fight... For now have some men scout this neighborhood. Search streets, hotels and shops. As always, you are to kill anybody the prisoner talks to, but try to be discreet about it. Dismissed!" He frowned a bit, regarding the room again. There was something irking his senses about Ranma, but he decided to ignore it. "You and you, clean up this mess" he ordered another two underlings that chose that moment to enter. "I don't want to have to bribe the police if there are evidence of dead bodies left behind..."

Half an hour later, when the Blank Globe Syndicate had checked out of the hotel, Ranma emerged from the bathroom in female form. "So, he can't pinpoint me exactly in male form with the Umisenken active and he can't at all while I'm a girl..." she mused. "Figures this curse would find a way to make itself useful" she added disgusted. Ranma decided she had to find a relatively safe place and think of a plan.

- - -

"Sasuke!" came the shrill cry and said diminutive ninja took his cue, appearing with a puff of smoke as expected.

"What can I do for you, mistress Kodachi?" he inquired, fearful of his lady's unreadable disposition. Instead of rage, elation or maniac obsession, trademark moods he knew how to deal with, Kodachi's face revealed a mixture of anxiousness and introspection.

"I have a number of requests, Sasuke" she started, her voice way calmer than the norm. "First of all, notify the servants that I will be unable to exercise my culinary skills for the next months. While cooking is pleasant recreation, I have other matters to attend to. I want you to locate an appropriate martial arts tutor for me, preferably one whose style is similar to martial arts gymnastics. I find that my current skills are way too narrowly focused." Her voice became bitter at the end of her sentence but she soon recovered. "Additionally, I want you to use you network and gather information about the self-proclaimed Blank Globe Syndicate. Try to be discrete and avoid drawing attention to our family."

Sasuke bowed low. "I will do so to the best of my ability, mistress Kodachi."

She smirked in response. "Of course you will. That would be all."

- - -

Nabiki entered the family room, her face a mask of worry. She couldn't help but smile, however when she saw a passed out Ryouga, still suspended on the wall.

"Did you kill him, sis?" she asked jokingly and Akane sighed.

"I was sincerely tempted to, 'Biki. I can't believe how I missed every sign. They may say hindsight is twenty-twenty, but I feel more stupid than a Kuno..." she replied sadly.

Nabiki gulped. "It's not that bad, sis. I didn't know either and neither did Kasumi."

Akane didn't seem to hear her. "The more I think about how I treated him because of that pig... How can Ranma put up with... with..." she tried, unable to express herself. Since her anger was saddled with two liters of soothing tea, she lacked an appropriate response.

Nabiki stared at her baby sister, usually the strongest in the family, now holding back bitter tears. While Ranma had caused her considerable grief during his stay, it paled compared to Ryouga's effect. She knew Akane cherished her few friends and having something like that blow up in her face was devastating. Nabiki Tendo swore right then and there that she would do her best to both help Ranma out of his current predicament and make sure Ryouga saw what hell really looks like.

Akane shook her head to clear her mind then focused her attention on her sister. "No use thinking about that now. Tell me what you have, sis."

Grim-faced, the middle Tendo sighed. "First of all, I need to tell you that when I first went to Tokyo U five months ago, I took the chance to... expand my business. That said, some of my contacts are a bit unsavory" she confessed a bit sheepishly.

Her sister smirked despite herself. "Now, that's an understatement, 'Biki. You thought you could sneak around like that and hide from me and Ranma?"

Nabiki raised a brow at that. "And what does that mean?" she asked, quite a bit disturbed. She thought she had been covering her tracks quite expertly but Akane's face was telling another tale.

Said Tendo heir scowled. "I know that you already own half the university and the people therein. I know you have been keeping the Triads in and around Nerima at bay. I know that my sister might as well be a yakusa boss, however benevolent compared to others. I know you take huge risks and gain a lot of cash and everything is semi-legal. Ranma and I have bailed you out of a tight spot twice already and you didn't even notice. So kindly cut the crap and tell me what's our enemy this time" she demanded, causing her sister to blanch.

To her credit, Nabiki recovered her poker face within a mere five seconds. "It's bad Akane. I have talked to high-ranking policemen, high-ranking crime lords and everybody in between. They are scared out of their wits and that's why this is the first time I heard of the BG Syndicate. They appeared out of thin air two years ago and they are powerful. Plus, this is not some puny local gang; they are a worldwide menace. I have found them behind a dozen phony companies and that's only the head of the iceberg. They have money, they have influence, they have a private army and they have martial artists of Ranma's caliber. And believe it or not, that's all the important info I could find."

For a while, Akane's eyes remained unfocused. When she turned to face her sister squarely, Nabiki couldn't help but flinch at the intensity of her gaze. "I want you to find me a list of every facility they own, sis. Especially places where they can keep people prisoners."

Her sister blinked dumbly at that. "You can't be thinking of trying to..." she sputtered, only to stop and flinch as a determination aura came into the visible spectrum around Akane.

"Like hell! I'm saving that jerk even if I have to search each and every building in Tokyo. Don't even try to stop me, 'Biki" she bellowed.

Nabiki sighed in resignation. She knew that Akane was currently beyond reasoning with. "I'll see what I can do, but don't get your hopes up. They own a lot of property."

"Do what you can, sis. I'll share what you find with the others, too" she responded, her hopes still high.

Nabiki had to smile. "Ok, I'll get to it and just this once for free, too" she proclaimed, turning to leave. At the last moment, she turned back. "Oh and little sis? I believe you are on fire..."

Akane yelped, patting her clothes frantically and getting her errant aura back under control. After she was done, she sighed sadly. She knew very well she had a wild goose chase ahead and if Ranma weren't on the balance, she would have been ecstatic about a chance to test her newly developed skills. Pit fighting could only keep her interested for only so long, after all.

The phone chose that moment to ring and end her ruminations and she picked it up absentmindedly. "Tendo residence."

"_Akane! Thank goodness you are safe. How is everybody else?" _

The middle Tendo snapped into attention at the voice of a very alive and very female Ranma. "Ranma! Where are you? How are you? Did you escape? Are they after you? Everybody else is all right. We were ready to look for you! Give me an address!" she responded frantically, her hand all but crushing the device in her grasp.

_"Gee, give me some credit, tomboy, and calm down. I gave them the slip hours ago. I was the one worried about you-and everybody else of course."_

Akane felt positively giddy. While she had been trying to remain calm and collected for her fiancé's sake before the phone call, it felt wonderful to let go of the worry. "You are the one that got your ass kidnapped this time, you jerk. What took you so long? Hurry up and come home so that I can pummel you" she retaliated, and Ranma could hear her smile through the line.

Which made what she had to do even more difficult. _"I fear I won't be coming back for a while, Akane"_ she stated gloomily.

The Tendo girl almost dropped the phone, feeling as if somebody had just upended a bucket full of freezing water on her head. "What do you mean you are not coming back?" she demanded.

Ranma sighed_. "I'm really sorry, 'Kane. It's just my screwed up luck. Something like that to happen when we finally... I mean when we decide to... Anyway, these people, this Blank Globe Syndicate... They are unlike anything else we've had to deal with and they are after me. They have a way to trace me when I'm in male form. If I come back home, they'll be there as soon as I hit hot water"_ she explained.

Akane refused to accept that. "You have to be kidding! Where will you go? What will you do?"

Her fiancée sounded a bit unsure_. "I'll figure that out as I go. I'll probably hide for a while then try to take the battle to them. I know some places and some people and as long as I mainly stay in female form they'll be hard pressed to follow me."_

The Tendo heir was steadily growing mortified. "But you can't. What about... They'll..." She paused for a moment to take a breath and make a decision. Ranma knew what was coming and was ready. "Tell me where you are. If you are going to fight them, you'll need all the help you can get. I refuse to stay back while you risk your life for all of us."

"_No way, Akane. You have no idea what they are like. I heard some of them talking. Everybody I'm seen with, becomes a marked person."_

"Listen to me, Ranma..." she tried, now angry.

_"No, YOU listen to me,"_ shouted Ranma back with enough fervor to mute her._ "You have no idea how much I'd like to have you with me. You have no idea how much I'm tempted. But I don't want a repeat of Saffron, damn it. As it is, you are safer anywhere else but WITH me."_

Desperate, Akane decided to try a different approach. Completely discarding her pride, she made sure to make her voice as meek as she could believably act. "But Ranma... What if they come here? I need you to protect us all, to protect me..." she knew she was laying it a bit thick, but Ranma was generally gullible, right?

A hearty laugh was the least she expected. "What the hell is so funny?" she demanded.

Ranma was still snickering_. "You didn't expect me to believe that, did you? Akane Tendo, princess tomboy of Nerima and able martial artist would never mean that. And anyway, I overheard they won't be coming to Nerima any time soon."_

"Why, you conceited, insensitive..." she ranted in indignation.

"_Akane"_ tried Ranma and she stopped talking, recognizing the grim and serious tone. _"You do realize this is not some stupid island prince or weird martial artist I'm dealing with here. I'll definitely have to hurt-kill- many of them. I... will you think less of me because of that?"_ she asked hesitantly.

Akane smiled despite the gravity of the question, a smile that soon turned wicked. "Don't worry about that, Ranma. I'll still lo... like you regardless..." she replied, her slip of tongue intentional. She smirked when she heard a sigh of relief then added, "...provided you do the same."

"_What does that mean?"_ asked Ranma hesitantly.

"Just that I'm not letting you fight alone, whatever you might say. If you won't let me come along, I'll just have to try and find you. And if I encounter Blank Globe people on the way, tough luck for them, then" she explained, marveling at how cold her voice sounded at the end.

_"But... but that's madness! That's..."_

Akane snorted at that. "Madness? Perhaps... Look who my fiancé is, I'm not exactly the sanest in the pile. And you can do nothing to stop me, either. If I have to pass through an army, so be it."

Ranma stayed silent for a while and Akane was afraid she had hang up_. "Damn it, Akane. Just don't kill yourself,"_ she added at length. _"When you make sure nobody is looking, go to the yard shed and look for a trapdoor at the right back corner. There is a box there and the password to open it is my favorite theatre play. I want you to take the red notebook from inside and nothing else. Then I want you to hide the box somewhere safer since I won't be around. The notebook has some stuff that might keep you alive."_ She paused again for a while. _"I'll miss you, tomboy."_

Akane gritted her teeth at that. She absently decided there was something very wrong with both of them if they could only show sincere emotion for each other under life or death situations. Then she decided to get some small revenge. "Of course you will, **love.** When I manage to find you, we'll have a lot of fun together" she declared, replacing the receiver on its stand before Ranma could process her words.

As soon as she did so, her smile vanished and she almost fell to the floor like a lifeless puppet. After living under the same roof with Ranma for close to three years, the concept of him not coming back for a long time was alien to her. She decided she had to stay alone for a while, before she broke the news to everybody else, and dragged herself to her room.

- - -

"Of course you will, **love.** When I manage to find you, we'll have a lot of fun together."

Ranma's eyes became wide as dinner plates at that and her brain strained for a response that wouldn't make her sound perverted, stupid or meek. She gasped when she realized Akane was not on the line anymore. "How dare you say something like that then hang up? And you call me insensitive! And **I** was supposed to hang up on you, not the opposite!" she bellowed in the silent headphone frustrated. Since she had called from a public payphone, that caused many people to glance at her and strive to avoid her.

- - -

03-08-07: I found this chapter more difficult to write than usual. For all intents, this is still the story's prologue and I'm slowly leading it where I want to. Some might think Akane is overreacting when it comes to Ryouga, but this IS Akane we are talking about. How would you react in her place? Stay tuned for the next chapter when the rest of the fiancées learn about Ranma's decision and where Cologne makes a proposition. And battle, we can't not have some more battle...


End file.
